Whether your business is just getting started or you’re looking to expand, one old saying rings true through every stage of growth: “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” You’ve probably heard this from many mentors, but how can your business build the right connections? Top Applicant’s got the answers with our deep dive into business networking.
Our employment experts combine decades of experience managing businesses, ranging from local startups to nationally known corporations. At the core of every successful business, relationships matter. So no matter what stage your business is in, everyone can learn something about building the right connections!
Starting Out
From our time as a scrappy start-up, the top brass at Top Applicant knows what it’s like to start from square one. From hunting for investors to making our mark in the market, effective collaboration with other businesses helps our hiring platform improve every day! Here’s what we’ve learned from our first experiences in the world of business networking.
Talking the Talk
First things first, you need to know how to talk to people! While cold calling may sound like a great place to start, we rarely recommend it. Instead of soliciting to new businesses, build connections with those you already know!
If your existing network doesn’t include any CEOs, you’re not alone. To build your business networking chops, start by joining local and national organizations! Professional organizations typically hold events designed to help businesses connect and collaborate.
As an added bonus, being a member of a professional organization can help your business look more appealing to potential clients because of the prestige associated with them. Here are a couple to look into:
Rotary International
A tried and true way to network with other local businesses is by joining your local rotary chapter. This organization brings professionals together to help communities around the world. With over 1.4 million members worldwide, this is one of the easiest ways to connect with other businesses throughout many diverse industries.
Your Local Chamber
One of the most important business networking opportunities is in your local chamber of commerce. Different chambers will have different qualities. But you should always take advantage of the resources, classes, and professional development opportunities they have to offer. Local chambers are some of the best options for small business owners to build connections.
SCORE
With SCORE, you can access one of the largest networks of volunteer mentors for small businesses in the United States. This is a very helpful business networking organization because it offers free online learning tools while providing a platform for small business owners and mentors to connect on the same level.
AMA
How is your business marketing itself? Well, for education and resources to get your business out there, the American Marketing Association is extremely helpful! Your local AMA chapter is a great place to collaborate with other entrepreneurs and marketing professionals to take your bottom line to the next level.
Perfect Your Pitch
To effectively talk business with other professionals, a good elevator pitch is essential. To perfect your pitch, think about the people you’re trying to reach. Keep things clear and detailed by considering how you would explain your business to your significant other’s parents. Your explanation should be plain enough for your audience to understand what you do, but detailed enough to build interest and give a sense of authority.
A good elevator pitch will keep things short and sweet in 2 minutes or less. To build your elevator pitch, start by experimenting at different business networking events to see what works! Practice makes perfect, so don’t sweat it if you don’t get it right the first time!
Walking the Walk
It’s not enough to just sound like you know what you’re talking about. You also need to prove that your business is worth getting to know! As you build your network and knowledge through different organizations and connections, put what you learn into practice by collaborating with other businesses.
Collaboration can mean many different things in the business world, but at its core, you want to build stronger connections by supporting other businesses. To do this, attend their events, refer friends, and keep in touch!
In the digital age, it’s never been easier to maintain strong relationships, so connect and collaborate on social media, keep your connections updated on big developments, and make the time to meet in-person occasionally outside of events.
The Art of the Cards
Every business has contact cards, so what are you doing with yours? Whether it’s at an event or a chance meeting on the street, connections are everywhere when it comes to business networking. To build strong relationships, go beyond the typical card exchange and use that contact info to your advantage!
To keep in touch effectively, keep things strictly business with a thank you email a day or two after making a connection. Save their number to your phone with their name, company details, and their position as well. This will help you remember the important details when you inevitably lose that card.
To keep a casual, regular connection, follow the company’s social media (not the individual person), and interact with their posts periodically to keep your name on their brain. Great connections grow over time, so don’t force anything! Focus on building your network on quality, not quantity.
Building Up
If this isn’t your first rodeo when it comes to business networking, you should know by now that there’s always room for improvement. As you build a healthy, collaborative network, you’ll notice that better connections really do pay off! The team behind Top Applicant spent decades building their networks, their businesses, and their careers. So here’s what they learned over the years:
Using Your Connections
Contacts are like aces—you need to learn when to use them and when to hold them. Calling on your connections can help your business grow, but just make sure you have something to contribute as well. When building relationships, it’s best to consider your connections as an investment.
To build your relationship ROI, you have to consistently invest time, energy, and insight. While an introduction is free, it’s impossible to get something for nothing when it comes to business networking. Keep the back-and-forth going to share ideas and resources, and as your business grows, so will your support!
Maintaining Relationships
Professional relationships are a lot like personal relationships. At the end of the day, your network is made up of people. So stay true to your core values and continue to improve your business networking skills! We’ve seen our fair share of people pleasers in our experience. But unless you want your sea of resources to be as shallow as a kiddie pool, you need to focus on building deep connections.
In the maintenance stage of business networking, it’s perfectly okay to share your personality! If you can’t stand someone personally, chances are that your professional relationship won’t go very far either. So make sure to align yourself with like-minded professionals with similar goals. This makes maintaining and growing your network enjoyable and rewarding in the long run.
Branching Out
Top Applicant has witnessed firsthand the snowball effect of effective networking. While we still attend an event or two on occasion, we’ve found that word of mouth is the best way to build connections. As we expand our platform to include new and improved features, we get support from our strong network! While building our professional relationships, we’ve found that someone always knows someone. This is why we’re always investing in our relationships.
By treating people with respect and staying true to your core values, you’ll become someone people want to know! With a good reputation amongst your network, your connections will introduce you to their network. With ever-expanding connections and a great rapport, you can skip the awkward events and start making connections that matter. This is where the next stage of your business networking journey begins.
Helping Others
Unless you were born with all the right connections, chances are that someone helped you by stepping up their business networking strategy. The ultimate goal of business networking is to help other businesses succeed as well! If you enjoy having great connections to support your business, you’re in a position to do the same for others. While our experts build their network, they focus on two key components of uplifting other businesses:
Become an Advocate
Whether it’s supporting international causes with your rotary chapter or confidently introducing your connections, advocacy matters. To help other professionals in your network, build them up by supporting their business, offering help when asked, and telling others about them! Word of mouth travels fast, which is why advocacy is important for empowering other professionals.
Create Opportunities
The snowball effect is on display in many ways when it comes to business networking. One of the most lucrative ways that connections can help each other is by sharing opportunities. With numerous strong connections, your business will have trusted professionals to choose from when you need them—in addition to opportunities knocking at your door more often!
Nobody works alone, which is why effective business networking is so important. From the early stages of getting your name out there and making friends, to creating new opportunities and helping others, Top Applicant is excited to watch your network grow!
Start building your network with our platform by signing in and checking out other businesses on Top Applicant. Create your profile, post positions for free, and collaborate with other businesses with the modern way to hire!
Let’s Connect!
If you’d like to build your network with experienced hiring experts, we’d love to hear from you. Contact our team to get connected. If you’re just wanting to get your name out there, start by advertising on Top Applicant. Either way, we’re excited to talk!
